LONDON--Speculators in Brent crude increased their bets in the week ended Aug. 7 that Brent prices would rise amid hopes that weak macroeconomic releases around the world will bring a fresh round of monetary measures and boost demand for oil.

A planned sharp fall in oil production in the North Sea, home of global benchmark Brent, in September due to oil field maintenance also gave financial investors reasons to increase their bets on higher Brent prices.

Speculators' decisions are closely watched because they can move faster than others in the market, as their positions aren't tied to physical oil deliveries.

According to the IntercontinentalExchange Inc.'s
ICE, -0.44%
weekly Commitment of Traders report published Monday, money managers, including hedge funds, held a net long position of 90,959 contracts in the week ended Aug. 7, up 5.7% from the week before. During the week, Brent futures rose in every session.

The net long position is the difference between the number of long positions, or bets that prices will rise, and short positions, or bets that prices will fall.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission Friday posted an even sharper rise in bets on higher New York Mercantile Exchange crude-oil prices: money managers, including hedge funds, held a net long position of 163,986 contracts, up 19.7% from the previous week. Nymex crude is often referred to as WTI.

"The latest moves reflected renewed expectation further U.S. Fed monetary easing will eventually be forthcoming. Interest was also boosted by U.S. crude stock draws, geopolitical tension in the Middle East and lower North Sea production," BNP Paribas said in a note.

As a result, financial investors are also betting on rising prices again, adding an extra momentum to the upswing, said Commerzbank.

A further increase in bets on higher crude prices is possible next week, analysts believe.

"Our expectation is that [quantitative easing] is likely to be announced during [Fed Chairman Ben] Bernanke's annual Jackson Hole speech at the end of August, and that long positions, notably on the WTI contract, will be built up in the lead-up to the speech," said BNP Paribas.

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